Welcome to Undercover Recruiter. If you're somewhere in the middle of your working career, striving to move ahead but feeling like there are things you don't know about how to do that, you're in the right place.

My entire career – about 25 years and counting – has been spent working with people in the process of making a job or career change. I've worked as a 'headhunter', recruiting people with a wide variety of backgrounds and qualifications for companies who paid me to find them. I've been a hiring manager at a VP level on the 'inside', devoting my time to finding the right people for my company and getting them in the door. I've led as CEO of a division of a multinational organization,  building a team from the ground up. I worked briefly in a career counselling role, helping people prepare themselves for a job or career search, and very quickly learned that most of the resources available are either out of touch or out of date, or both.

In this time, I've seen it all (or most of it, at least). I've read many thousands of resumes and cover letters. I've interviewed several thousand candidates. I've hired (or been directly involved in the hiring of) hundreds of people.

Throughout my career, I wanted nothing more than to spend time with some people; time that they so badly needed. Tweaking the way they presented themselves on paper or in person. Pointing out the things they were doing to – inadvertently and unknowingly – shoot themselves in the foot. Helping them understand the way the job market really worked, so they could understand why they weren't getting where they wanted to go. And most of all, being brutally honest with them about the hurdles that were set up in front of them so they could avoid the inevitable stumbles. I couldn't do that. Either it wasn't my job at the time, and other priorities had to take the lead. Or, in some cases, it was quite literally contrary to my purpose at the time. More on that in a future post.

But that's why I'm here, and that's why I'm glad you're here, because I'm going to share the insights I've always wanted to. It'll be honest – possibly to the point of being a bit tough to swallow at times – but I promise you this: it will be the truth, and it will be useful to you.

Okay, but why 'undercover'?

Undercover, because I'm a recruiter and an employer. There are hiring managers who probably won't appreciate me sharing some of the information you'll read here. If the process of getting hired is a game, the odds of that game are not stacked in your favour. Hiring managers like it that way. I need to protect the relationships I have in the business world, and the reputation I have as a recruiter for companies. So to share the information I really want to share with you, to be as honest as I need to be, I've gone 'undercover'.

I'm glad you're here, because you're in the right place. You need information and insight to get ahead in your next job and career search, and I can help. Stay tuned. See you again soon.

Photo by Andrew Neel on Unsplash